Pawning off the Ladies

Reader James asks (in John D's post):

I wonder if there have been any instances of (presumably) grateful Iraqis offering their daughters in marriage to American Marines & soldiers.

I don't know about Iraqis, but an old Sergeant Major I knew from my VMI days was "given" a 14 year old girl while serving in Turkey.

He traded her for a rug though.

Oh and I'm back, btw.

While I'm on vacation in the Pac Northwest...

...I thought I would drop in and leave this little bit on info for Lieutenant Watada (since he's *also* in the area).

Below child molesters are spies and people who take the paycheck and benefits then refuse to deploy to combat situations. Yolanda Hewitt-Vaughn was treated like dirt and everyone looked down on her.

If you'd like to read where that little tidbit came from - drop by Castle Argghhh! and read it here.

More From Lebanon

Froggy rounds up links to Lebanese blogs.

Update: And via Mrs G's extensive blogroll system, here's Amarji - A Heretic's Blog -"the blog haven of Syrian author Ammar Abdulhamid", who says

...the issue ahead of us if that of Hezbollah and Hamas being wielded as instruments of provocation by Syria and Iran to stir up another national liberation conflict and mobilize us all for the march to hell, with many of us applauding all the way. In this regard, the Assads’ success in imposing this new round of conflict upon us all is going to doom us all.

Even more Lebanese bloggers (via Star from Mosul):

The Lebanese Bloggers

From Beirut to the Beltway

And more here.

Still more: an email from an American in Beirut. Yes, the Embassy will be overwhelmed during such a crisis. And yes, there are plans to evacuate American citizens in such events, but apparently the person he spoke to was unaware. I'm speaking of noncombatant evacuation operations - AKA "NEO" - which generally involve the US Marines or SOF guys. It's telling that such an op hasn't been ordered for Beirut, but no doubt somebody somewhere is "standing by."

Here's the instruction manual.

From Lebanon

Cries for help

History of Yongsan Garrison

Anyone who has been stationed in Korea and especially Yongsan should really go and check out this photograph of Yongsan in the 1940's. Pretty amazing picture when compared to today. Additionally read this great link about the history of foreign occupation of Yongsan Garrison in Seoul:

The headquarters of the ``Chosun (Korean) military command’’ were located in the Yongsan area on the grounds now occupied by the 8th U.S. Army. The Yongsan area attracted the attention of the Japanese military as early as 1894 _ perhaps because of its proximity to the Han River, which provided the easiest medium of communication in that pre-railway age. When a Japanese brigade arrived in Korea in May 1894, it camped at Yongsan, laying foundation for the long tradition of a foreign military presence in the area. From the 1910s, Yongsan already housed barracks, military installations, and officers’ accommodation. Incidentally, Yongsan was also the place from which the first airplane ventured into Korean skies. In 1913, Lt. Narahara of the Japanese Navy designed and tested an experimental airplane. The test flights took place at the training grounds of the Japanese forces in Yongsan.

Here is a sobering stat if you are a Korean, from 1884 until today there hasn't been a year when Korea hasn't had a sizable foreign military presence on their soil.

For the Record (2)

Comments from Israeli officials, as reported in the New York Times (emphasis added):

...Israeli officials said there would be a long campaign to restore the country’s security, both along its southern border with Gaza and its northern one with Lebanon. The Israelis want to restore their military credibility with the Palestinian militants and the Hamas government in Gaza and with Hezbollah, and say they intend to make the current campaign painful for both sets of antagonists.
<...>
The Israelis say they want the message to get across to Syria and Iran, the countries widely considered to be the main sponsors of Hezbollah and Palestinian militancy.
<...>
A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, Gideon Meir, told reporters on Thursday that Israel had “concrete evidence that Hezbollah plans to transfer the kidnapped soldiers to Iran,” but he gave no specifics or source for the claim. “As a result,” Mr. Meir said, “Israel views Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran as the main players in the axis of terror and hate that endangers not only Israel, but the entire world.”

Israeli concerns that the soldiers may be moved out of Lebanon are a prime reason for its efforts to blockade the country and prevent air traffic, Mr. Meir said later.

For the Record (1)

In Germany, President Bush and Chancellor Merkel addressed reporters. While the main topic was a response to Iran on nuclear issues, the Israel/Hamas/Hezbollah issue was also discussed. Full text here, portions on Israel below.

RE: Rat-a-tat & Asymmetric Total War

In my view, Iran and Syria are engaged in "all out war" although the form is currently asymmetric war by proxy.

Since the goals for Iran and Syria include the complete destruction of Israel and, at least, the neutering of the United States, I consider them to be seeking "total" victory. I would argue that this includes the removal of any restraint on their ability pursue their national or extranational interests (perhaps in re-establishing the Caliphate?).

And, though their approach is not masses of tanks and waves of aircraft, they are fighting on their schedule and within their capabilities. They are subordinating everything to the war effort. Thus, it is, in my view, "total war." It is not being fought like previous wars. It is being fought on several fronts.

Iran is "continuing politics by other means" through its surrogate actions. Walid Phares has identified four goals Iran wants to gain through this current effort at misdirection (or a feint?):

1. Iran is concerned about the nuclear crisis and wants to deflate the issue away.
2. Syria is concerned about the Hariri murder investigation and wishes to postpone its results.
3. Hizbollah is concerned about the call for disarming its militias and therefore decided to flare up the conflict with Israel.
4. Finally, Hamas was sinking in crisis with Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah. Thus a Jihad against Israel was the solution.

In addition to the attacks on civilians and other indices of total war, the war continues with propaganda, perhaps including tripe like this which asks one part of the Iranian goal, "Imagine a world without Israel."

If your goal is total destruction of another state and you have announced that goal and taken steps to make it come true, then it smells like "all out war" to me. "Death to the United States" is a goal, not just a chant.

What is currently happening may be just a skirmish or it may be the beginning of a bigger battle. But it is part of a larger whole. An "all out" war, in my view.